A homeless man who managed to climb over three fences and sneak into the luggage hold of a Virgin Atlantic plane at Manchester Airport in a concerning security breach, has been fined over £200.
Martin Rudzki was spotted by security officials on December 11 at around 2.15pm wandering around an unauthorised zone smelling ‘strongly’ of alcohol.
The 35-year-old told police he crept onto the jet because he thought it would be ‘cool’ to ‘go into the belly of the aircraft, smoke a cig and drink a beer’ – then jumped off before it started to leave.
He had been sleeping rough on Manchester Airport grounds for five weeks, Manchester Magistrates’ Court heard.
Rudzki told the court he ‘wanted to see the plane out of curiosity’ and his mental health was ‘in a bad state’ at the time.
Since the incident, he claimed he’s made ‘real improvements’ by ‘learning Italian’ and is ‘possibly doing a Masters degree next year’.
Rudzki was handed a £100 fine, £85 court costs and £34 victim surcharge.
He was also ordered not to go to the airport for two years unless he had a valid ticket for travel, under the terms of a restraining order.
Martin Rudzki, 31, (pictured) told police he crept onto the jet because he thought it would be ‘cool’ to ‘go into the belly of the aircraft, smoke a cig and drink a beer’ – then jumped off before it started to leave
After he was arrested, he later told officers he had been walking along the Bluetube section of the airport when he saw the Virgin Atlantic carrier and thought it would be ‘cool’ to ‘go into the belly of the aircraft’.
It was only when a member of staff removed the steps from the plane without knowing he was there, that he worried about it departing and jumped out of the cargo hold – shortly after he was spotted and challenged.
Tina Cunnane, prosecuting, told the court that on December 11 last year, at around 2.15pm, security staff saw Rudzki in the unauthorised area, they knew he wasn’t an employee as he was not wearing high-vis clothing and did not have an airfield pass.
‘He smelled strongly of intoxicants. He said he was a new employee, this was not believed and he was provided transport to take him back to security,’ she said.
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‘The police were called and the defendant was spoken to. He confirmed he had climbed over three fences near to the Radisson Blu Hotel, entered an aircraft whilst in the airfield and went into the luggage hold in order to smoke a cigarette.
‘When he was charged he said he admitted it, and he said he was sleeping rough at Manchester Airport for the last five weeks.
‘He said that he was walking along the Bluetube when he saw the Virgin Atlantic plane and admitted he thought it would be cool to go into the belly of the aircraft, smoke a cig and drink a beer.’
Rudzki then bought a can of beer from the Spar in the airport before making his way to the airfield, the court heard. He then ‘explored the area’ before going to the cargo hold.
Rudzki was handed a £100 fine, £85 court costs and £34 victim surcharge. He was also ordered not to go to the airport for two years unless he had a valid ticket for travel, under the terms of a restraining order. Pictured: Virgin Atlantic plane (file image)
In his police interview, he told officers he admitted the offence and had no malicious intent. Rudzki was said to have no previous convictions.
Speaking from the dock, he told Manchester JPs that he was homeless at the time and his mental health was ‘in a bad state’.
‘I came to Manchester, I was sleeping rough at Manchester Airport,’ he said, ‘It was just out of curiosity, I wanted to see the plane.
‘There was no intention to damage it, or hurt anyone, it was just curiosity. I’m sorry. I was really peaceful, I told them [the police] I was having a bad day.
‘I’ve made real improvements, I started learning Italian and I’m possibly doing a Masters degree next year.’
Rudzki, of Wilmslow Road, Manchester, was handed a £100 fine, £85 court costs and £34 victim surcharge.
He was also ordered not to go to the airport for two years unless he had a valid ticket for travel, under the terms of a restraining order.
As he was sentenced, Rudzki replied: ‘That’s more than reasonable.’
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